Attorney General Michael A. Delaney announces that New Hampshire, as part of a national settlement against Abbott Laboratories, has recovered $1,142,615 by resolving civil allegations that Abbott illegally marketed Depakote. The states contended that from January 1998 through December 31, 2008, Abbott promoted the sale and use of Depakote for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective. This conduct resulted in false claims to Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. Further, the covered conduct from the settlement provided that Abbott Laboratories made false and misleading statements about the safety, efficacy, dosing and cost-effectiveness of Depakote for some unapproved uses; improperly marketed the product in nursing homes; and paid illegal remuneration to health care professions and long term care pharmacy providers to induce them to promote and/or prescribe Depakote.

The national settlement, which totaled $1.5 billion, is the second largest recovery from a pharmaceutical company in a single civil and criminal global resolution. Abbott Laboratories pled guilty in federal court to a violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture of $700 million. Additionally, the company was ordered to pay the states and the federal government a total of $800 million in civil damages and penalties to compensate Medicaid, Medicare, and various federal healthcare programs for harm suffered as a result of its conduct.

A state team appointed by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units participated in the investigation and conducted the settlement negotiations with Abbott on behalf of the participating states.